Our all-time favorite brother-of-a-Hall-of-Famer Mark Mussina returns to begin another baseball season but this one has been greatly altered \u2013 and improved \u2013 by \u201cthe system\u201d getting the calls right. Moose joins Nestor to discuss umpiring, the strike zone and the new ABS rules in MLB and why it\u2019s quickly become hailed as one of the greatest improvements in the game in a generation.<\/p>\n
[ ] @Nestor Aparicio \u2013 Look up the exact date of Tommy Conway\u2019s April 24 show at Asbury Park so you can reference it accurately on the program.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u2019s Role and Personal Life<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio introduces Mark Mussina, highlighting his role as the county commissioner in Mentorsville and his brother\u2019s Hall of Fame career.<\/p>\n
Mark Messina jokes about being the youngest commissioner at 54 and shares about his children, one of whom is a freshman in college.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio mentions their long-standing friendship and how Mark often joins him to discuss football, especially to criticize the Cowboys.<\/p>\n
Mark expresses his enjoyment of discussing baseball on the show, despite his busy schedule.<\/p>\n
Discussion on ABS Rules and Strike Zone<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio praises the new ABS rules, particularly the pitch clock and the challenge system for the strike zone, calling it a significant improvement for baseball.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina agrees, noting that traditionalists often fear change but acknowledges the positive impact of the pitch clock and the challenge system.<\/p>\n
They discuss the technology behind the strike zone challenges, with Nestor mentioning that players are measured to determine the strike zone.<\/p>\n
Mark wonders about the accuracy of the technology and the potential for more challenges, suggesting a third challenge might be necessary.<\/p>\n
Impact of New Rules on Game Dynamics<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio and Mark Messina discuss how the new rules have added a new layer of strategy and tension to the game, similar to American Idol\u2019s entertainment value.<\/p>\n
They talk about the potential for more challenges in later innings and the impact on game dynamics, particularly in close games.<\/p>\n
Nestor expresses concern about the latitude for players to challenge calls, suggesting it could create tension between managers and players.<\/p>\n
Mark highlights the importance of live challenges in baseball, unlike other sports that rely on pre-recorded replays.<\/p>\n
Umpires and Their Role in the Game<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio shares a personal anecdote about a negative interaction with an umpire during a game, reflecting on the traditional attitude of umpires.<\/p>\n
Mark Messina discusses the potential for umpires to become more media-savvy and accountable, which could improve their relationship with players and fans.<\/p>\n
They talk about the importance of umpires being approachable and willing to admit mistakes, which could enhance the overall experience of the game.<\/p>\n
Mark mentions that umpires have historically been insulated from public scrutiny, but the new rules could change that dynamic.<\/p>\n
Orioles\u2019 Offseason Moves and Future Prospects<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio and Mark Messina discuss the Baltimore Orioles\u2019 offseason moves, including the signing of pitchers and the acquisition of Pete Alonso.<\/p>\n
Mark praises the Orioles\u2019 willingness to spend money on pitchers, despite the inherent risks involved, and expresses optimism about the team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
They talk about the importance of Adley Rutschman\u2019s health and potential impact on the team, given his past performance and the aura he brought to the team.<\/p>\n
Nestor expresses confidence in the Orioles\u2019 starting pitching and the team\u2019s overall potential, predicting a successful season.<\/p>\n
Local Politics and Community Involvement<\/p>\n
Mark Messina shares his involvement in local politics, including his role as the county commissioner and his work with nonprofit organizations.<\/p>\n
He discusses the importance of local politics in making a difference in the community, particularly in areas like housing and social services.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio praises Mark\u2019s efforts and emphasizes the importance of community involvement and support.<\/p>\n
Mark mentions his ongoing involvement in coaching and his commitment to helping local organizations, despite his busy schedule.<\/p>\n
Personal Connections and Future Plans<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio and Mark Messina reminisce about their past experiences, including coaching together and attending baseball games.<\/p>\n
Mark shares his plans to attend an Orioles game with his son and expresses his excitement about the upcoming season.<\/p>\n
They discuss the importance of family and personal connections in their lives, despite their busy schedules.<\/p>\n
Nestor and Mark look forward to future interactions, including attending baseball games and discussing sports.<\/p>\n
SUMMARY KEYWORDS<\/p>\n
MLB rules, strike zone, pitch clock, umpire challenges, baseball season, Hall of Fame, County Commissioner, Baltimore Orioles, Adley Rutschman, Pete Alonso, bullpen, starting pitching, player health, local politics, nonprofit organizations.<\/p>\n
SPEAKERS<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio, Mark Mussina<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a000:01<\/p>\n
Welcome home. We are W, N, S T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore. Positive getting after it here in a baseball season in a good way, gives me a chance to catch up with the old friends and just friends that aren\u2019t old. He\u2019s little younger than me, but not too old. I\u2019m his brother\u2019s age. We\u2019re really old. I would have shaved today if I wanted to feel younger. He is the county commissioner up in mentorsville. He will, will always be the brother of the Hall of Famer Mike Messina. He\u2019s been my friend for going on 35 years. We welcome Mark Messina back on. You know, I always hit you in football season to come on to beat up on the Cowboys. And you\u2019re like, I\u2019m County Commissioner baseball season, man, one weekend in I\u2019m like, you want to talk baseball? Moose is like, let\u2019s go. So first things for how you doing everything? Good? How\u2019s the county commission doing? All right? I\u2019m good.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a000:53<\/p>\n
Yeah, I like coming on here because I\u2019m, you know, if you tell me I\u2019m the young guy in the group, there aren\u2019t a lot of places, although I\u2019m the youngest Commissioner too, at 54 but you know how it is, so I have no complaints. You know, I\u2019m an empty Nestor. Now, my youngest kid is a freshman in college, so I\u2019ve got one as a freshman in college, one is a senior in college, and one is out in the real world. So So life got very different this fall, but, you know, still rocking and rolling. So, yeah, I have no complaints. Alright, so<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a001:24<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve done a lot of conversation already on this. I want to wind you up on the ABS thing. Because if there\u2019s anybody that studies the strike zone and studied your brother\u2019s pitching on his Hall of Fame career, and you were pitcher yourself at one point, although you can\u2019t throw a party anymore, I know that one, and you\u2019ve been you\u2019ve been an umpire, a judge, a coach, all of that this is they\u2019re very few things, and I\u2019ve known you 35 years that I literally could say to you, they made baseball better. I don\u2019t I there\u2019s a handful of things maybe along the way that we could say they really improved baseball, Major League Baseball, they\u2019ve made the game more interesting in every way. Nothing\u2019s made the game more interesting than these first three games that I\u2019ve watched, and part of it was the umpire throwing out the the twins manager for arguing whether he touched his hat quick enough or not. But the fact that there\u2019s debate, and I don\u2019t, I\u2019m not a big conflict guy. You know that if I did, I take phone calls and use Jack wagons all day, they yell at me about Trump. But I think there\u2019s a level of conflict and some tension in regard to this that I thought they were trying to get rid of umpires, get rid of the home plate umpire, like tennis, where it just would be a ball or a strike. I don\u2019t think they can ever do that. Now, I think they have developed something that\u2019s like American Idol. It\u2019s got an entertainment value to it, and a who did you like better aspect about it that I I\u2019m bullish on this, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019re ever getting rid of the umpires. I think they\u2019re going to be a third challenge. Two is not enough. I think they need a third one. But other than that, they did something to improve baseball moose, and I\u2019m happy about that.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a003:10<\/p>\n
Well, we with every sport you get to the the traditionalists and they all because, you know, in life in general, there are so many people who just fear change. They\u2019re comfortable the way they are, and they don\u2019t want change. And we remember, those of us who are old enough to remember before NFL had instant replay and how it was going to ruin everything, and you couldn\u2019t have the NFL now without instant replay, the pitch clock was going to ruin everything, because baseball was the timeless game and the pace and the step offs and all this stuff, and it was part of it, and and now I think the pitch clock has been wonderful for baseball. And I\u2019m trying to think of, you know, I mean, I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve done anything too radical, as I think of back with the XFL rules, where they had you couldn\u2019t fair catch a punt, and they tried to make this these crazy things, but the pitch clock has been great. The challenging the strike zone has, I think, is, is fascinating. I wonder. I\u2019m still curious as to how they get the technology that knows up and down, and is it? Is it some nerd sitting there who\u2019s who\u2019s eyeing it up as best he can? Or how do they get? Because I heard one of the comments<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a004:32<\/p>\n
measuring all the players, apparently, right?<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a004:35<\/p>\n
Well, one of the guys joked that when guys used to show up at Spring Training, they\u2019re like, how tall are you? What are you weighing? They would just tell them, and they\u2019d write it down, and the guy said, Now the guys have all gotten shorter this year because they\u2019re like, no, no. So I mean that there has to be, I don\u2019t know, but it\u2019s it\u2019s not exact, but it\u2019s not like the umpires were exact, but you do see the egregious misses. You. And and that they fix them. And I I agree with your point of is two enough. I know you don\u2019t want 1000 stoppages, but baseball used to be so much slower. I mean, you remember whenever the Yankees in the orange used to play, it was a three hour and 45 minute game. The pitch clock has sped that up a lot. I wondered if they ever get to the point where you have, like, if it\u2019s a different number, maybe, I don\u2019t know how, because they seem to be able to do it quickly. I wondered if you got one for every spot in the batting order. And you know, if you\u2019re in the three hole, you get one today. You can use it early. You can use it late. If, if your eight hitter comes out of the game and you bring a pinch hitter, the pinch hitter might not have one. I don\u2019t know. I know one of the things that I\u2019ve always wondered, and they have in basketball now, they have, they have these limited challenges, even if you\u2019re always right, and I\u2019ve never understood why? If you get in the NFL, if you get screwed twice, and you\u2019re right, you get a bonus one, what if you get screwed on five straight calls? Why? Why does it stop? So that those are questions to move forward, but they will tweak it because they don\u2019t want it to take too long. But I agree with you. I think that one and the pitch clock have certainly made. Pitch clock, just made the game more consumable. This has been an aspect, because, you know what the NFL the question is, do we now? Do we waste our challenge? Do we risk the challenge because we\u2019re going to burn a time out if we\u2019re wrong? So it brought a whole new level of strategy. And with baseball, it\u2019s the same thing as it\u2019s a, it\u2019s a two Oh pitch in the second inning. Is this where I\u2019m going to use it? Or am I not and and it\u2019s or how<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a006:48<\/p>\n
right am I? How sure am I that I\u2019m right? Because I keep thinking to myself, twins, guy blew it. They didn\u2019t have a challenge late in the game that you cannot go into the ninth inning without still not having this to me, to me eighth or ninth in a close game. And not every game is going to be close. I get the seven to two game with differences to make right but in close games, in Division games, in pennant race games later in the year, the the notion that you go to the dugout and you did screw up in the fourth inning or the fifth inning, or you tapped and you lost one for your team. You go to the dugout. Give me the stink eye, and the pitcher that\u2019s coming into the game in the ninth inning, you\u2019re screwing him too. So just how much latitude, how much ego is involved in this for hitters to say, I\u2019m going to challenge it, then it costs you the challenge you go to the dugout. It\u2019s going to create tension between managers and players too, to say you\u2019re not allowed to challenge dude in the same way you\u2019re not allowed to steal a base or take a base or, you know, you don\u2019t have that latitude to challenge don\u2019t challenge it because your eyes not good enough. And it\u2019s no<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a008:01<\/p>\n
I agree, and it\u2019s neat that baseball has not allowed because all the other sports wait for replay. And sometimes when you\u2019re watching the NFL at home, and we see that, you kind of blame the television broadcast because they didn\u2019t find a good enough replay angle before the team, because guys don\u2019t just throw it. You see in college basketball all the time they go to the manager now behind who\u2019s got the iPad behind? They don\u2019t just do it live very much. So the fact that baseball\u2019s forced it live, you\u2019re right. It\u2019s not just about how good am I doing it. It\u2019s the ego. And you just took mine away from me. I wonder, because it\u2019s so new and because it\u2019s going to be tweaked. You know, the NFL you can\u2019t challenge unless you have a timeout until we get under two minutes. And I wonder if baseball does something along the lines of, you get two challenges for the first seven innings, but then in the eighth inning, the ninth inning, the 10th inning, you get a challenge every inning going forward, so you can\u2019t get to the ninth inning without a challenge. I wonder if they do something like that.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a009:06<\/p>\n
Yeah, that just isn\u2019t a good you know, that\u2019s not good. It\u2019s not good for for us, for the people consuming the game, that in the ninth inning, one team can\u2019t challenge something when because they screwed up once earlier in the game, or whatever, like, but man, it it got me texting you on Sunday night and Alan\u2019s coming on all of my baseball nerds, because I\u2019m like, is this as wild to you as it is to me? And I can\u2019t imagine your brother. What does your brother think of it? You know, I haven\u2019t asked.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a009:39<\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t seen him since the season started. I was going to see him today at a baseball game, but the field is too wet, so they had to move the game somewhere else. So I\u2019m not going to see him, but I don\u2019t know it is the difference that the intrigue that baseball is going to bring in. Is it\u2019s not the coach who\u2019s looking at a TV screen, who\u2019s deciding it has to be the players. And again, like you, you know that, and that\u2019s one of the neat things, and we see in college basketball, it\u2019s<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a010:10<\/p>\n
one thing, but it is a team decision to challenge it, though, correct?<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a010:15<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s that\u2019s one of the neat things about basketball, is like, am I shooting or are you shooting? It\u2019s the coach. Doesn\u2019t decide the coach, we can drop our offense and we can do whatever we want, but you\u2019ve got guys on the floor, and in this case, in March Madness, you got kids on the floor. They\u2019re like, I can shoot it if I want, or I can give it to you. And now we get the selfish, unselfish and who\u2019s too unselfish, and who has I mean, I I think you\u2019re going to see guys. It\u2019ll be fascinating. The stat at the All Star break who leads the league in challenges and what really good players have never challenged at all that haven\u2019t because they\u2019re like, I\u2019m not taking it away from somebody else. I\u2019ll fight through it. It\u2019s going to be fascinating. Mark machine<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a010:59<\/p>\n
is my guest. He has been around here for 30 years. One point was eating frozen pizza in my in my living room at three in the morning, watching baseball tonight with Carl Ravitch, you know, and I don\u2019t ever poke you about your brother, or what your brother think of this, or whatever, how it would be in that day, but I\u2019m going to ask you about this, because I don\u2019t really know the answer to this. And all the years I covered baseball, I had to think about this in the last 24 hours, and I\u2019ve told the story once or twice already this week on the show. I only remember ever in my life having one conversation with an umpire. I had it on an airport shuttle in Cleveland right after the Alomar spitting incident with Hersh back. I don\u2019t remember the umpire\u2019s name. Your brother would remember it. It was, might have been the day Alomar hit the home run in Cleveland. I\u2019m pretty because it was in I remember it being in Cleveland. I was on an airport shuttle. I was leaving an oral Indian games. I think it was the 96 you know, you and I were probably roommates at the time. And all I remember about him was he was like, the worst gym teacher. He was, like, stereotypical macho, douchey. You know, my where the highway Frank Kush School of umpiring? And I thought, well, all these guys dealing with blue panel and Earl Weaver, that\u2019s the way it was. I\u2019m old. Now you\u2019re old. Now the umpire\u2019s a little younger. Some of them are a little older. The Angel Hernandez thing that happened in recent times about just being bad at it. Cora saying, got one job, balls and strikes. You get nine wrong in a game. That\u2019s that\u2019s not good. We\u2019re going to start judging the umpires. Do you know umpires? Did your brother really ever know an umpire talk to them well or anything? I\u2019m fascinated, because I know that they thought they were just trying to take umpiring away. And that sounds good. I would have said a week ago, moose, I would have said they\u2019re trying to get rid of the umpires. Now that I see the friction this creates and the drama and the how they\u2019ve done it, I think they\u2019ve done a brilliant job with it. They need to get more. That\u2019s my only complaint. But I think to myself, the ego part of the rabbit ear umpire that your brother dealt with in his era, to ever even talk to these guys or have any relationship with them that this, this is going to change umpiring as well. And certainly, as Cora pointed out in Boston the other day, you know, the guys who who do this poorly, it\u2019s going to get out and instantly, right?<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a013:21<\/p>\n
Yeah, no, I agree. Because these are the stats that on by. Because you can do well, they they had this many right out of 100 pitches. Or, well, there\u2019s two teams out of 230 pitches today. They got six wrong and all that stuff, and that\u2019s whatever. But when you see, like the guys who have been overturned, you know, nine times, or you\u2019ll these will be the biggest umpiring stats that we\u2019ve seen. And at any level, I think that, Well, you\u2019re right that the Major League Baseball umpires have been insulated to the point that you know on the field, they are the Gestapo, and they never have to answer to anyone. They never go in front of a microphone. The only one I ever really remember going in front of a microphone is, what\u2019s his name, when he when he blew the call at first base for the perfect game for the Galarraga kid from right? It was at Jim Joyce. I want to<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a014:13<\/p>\n
say it was, yeah, who?<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a014:15<\/p>\n
And I think when you go through and you know, you talk to players, how are the umpires? Oh, they all sing. But then, but then, when you actually talk to and they\u2019ll be like, well, the these guys are good and these guys are, you know, aren\u2019t as good. Well, your<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a014:24<\/p>\n
brother always knew who the umpire was, and always knew what the strike zone, high, low and out like, there was a, there was a it was a study amongst pitchers in Major League Baseball this week.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a014:34<\/p>\n
Wasn\u2019t accidental, but you you talk to any coach at any level. It doesn\u2019t have to be major league or the NFL. You know, you talk about low college, you talk about high school, you talk they want the the umpires and the officials who will talk to you and will explain, and who don\u2019t have that arrogance of every call I made was right, because you\u2019ll see, you\u2019ll have, you know, I had basketball officials who come to me like, yeah, I might have missed that. Or I got screened and I didn\u2019t really see it, or, you know, and, and you understand that it\u2019s hard to get mad at someone, you know, when I\u2019ve umpired the plate in and I\u2019ve done, I\u2019ve never done anything above, like Little League and senior Little League, but I\u2019ve gone to coaches all the time and like, is that low? Is that too high? Am I too high? And it\u2019s hard to get mad at someone who understands that, like they\u2019re just trying to do job. They\u2019re trying to do the best they can. But you know, anywhere in life, when you get that ego driven person who\u2019s like, I\u2019m right and because I\u2019m the law and and they never have to sit in front of a microphone and answer. I was interested to see today. I Googled this earlier. I wanted to see if there was a comment from the NCAA officials last night, who didn\u2019t call the charge on Cameron Boozer, if you watched the game, that he just ran over, and everyone and their mom knew it was a charge. Patino was online talking about it. The in game commentators, you know, everyone he just ran over the kid, and there was no whistle. And I understand officiating is really hard, and at the Youth levels, we\u2019re getting less and less of them, but I don\u2019t think it helps them that they never sit there in front of the microphone. And have you know, John Shire has to sit there in front of the microphone and answer the questions. And why don\u2019t the officials have to sit there in front of the microphone and say, Yeah, we blew it. I don\u2019t like and just give your explanation for what happened, because now we\u2019re just like, oh, the officials suck, and when you don\u2019t have the human element of it. So that\u2019s I to get I just rambled all the way around your point, but the it will help Major League Baseball umpires, the ones who are more media savvy, who can come up and explain themselves and just be like, yeah, I, I had trouble picking up the ball today. You know, hitters do. So why umpires? I? I just didn\u2019t. But there\u2019s no<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a016:56<\/p>\n
relationship between umpires and even your brother pitching 20 years in the big leagues. They really don\u2019t know each other at all, right? They literally, it is, I don\u2019t know, like you mentioned policemen or Gestapo or whatever, like, I just can\u2019t imagine they\u2019ve there been a lot of discussions between pitchers and we, even your brother, would say the Maddox had a preferred strike zone, right? He got he got calls. No other people got that\u2019s all over with. All of that\u2019s over with now, well, I think<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a017:25<\/p>\n
I wonder too if certain guys like because the first baseman, the umpires rotate by first base and the catchers clearly have relationships. They would be interesting to talk to. I\u2019m sure the pitchers know which umpires are pitchers, umpires and hitters. Know which umpires and hitters umpires, or at least historically, had been, but it would be interesting to talk to the catchers, because they would have relationships with all these guys. And which ones you can talk to, which ones will be like, Yeah, I missed that one. And because when you\u2019re umpiring behind a plate, even at a guy who\u2019s just done a billion Little League games, like right after the call, there are times you\u2019re like, Yeah, and you hear, you know, some hooting, and you see some kids react, and you\u2019re like, Yeah, I think they\u2019re right. And I was wrong on that one. And I don\u2019t it, just it has always helped me to tell I like, I\u2019ll tell kids in the middle of a bat, like, Yeah, I\u2019m sorry that might have been outside. And I don\u2019t think that makes it worse. I think it makes you more human, and it keeps the game going. I don\u2019t know, but it will this whole it is fascinating.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a018:30<\/p>\n
I mean, I\u2019ve never reached to so many baseball people in one night excited to want to talk about a pretty esoteric part of the game, but also a part that I\u2019m like, my wife and I were said, she don\u2019t even feel well, we\u2019re sitting there watching Sunday. She\u2019s like, this is more interesting. And I\u2019m like, Yeah, it really, really is. And I, I\u2019ve been doing this 35 years, and I it\u2019s kind of revolutionary. And I\u2019m thinking my all of my thought was they were trying to get rid of the umpires. No, no, no, no, no. This is going to keep their jobs forever, because I it has made it. It\u2019d be like having American Idol without judges. Like, who would, you know, like, literally, yeah,<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a019:09<\/p>\n
and just, I mean, as you\u2019re talking about, imagine you\u2019re, you\u2019re sitting in the stadium or at, you know, a bar or whatever, watching with your buddies. And it\u2019s, it\u2019s a one, one pitch in the mid or, you know, maybe not one one count. It\u2019s a two one count in the middle of the fourth inning, and it\u2019s probably outside, and it got called a strike, and, you know, the guys chat, and now you got your friends debating, is this a big enough situation to get us to a hitters count with a three one count in the fourth inning, or should we save it? Because we don\u2019t want to burn it. It\u2019s only, you<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a019:40<\/p>\n
know, well, every player in history ever had to eat it. Whatever it was is what it was. It\u2019s not anymore. And that now, that unto itself, is just crazy. I mean,<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a019:50<\/p>\n
we\u2019ve had the baseball people who are like, you know, do you hit and run here? Do you blunt here? But so much of that has left the game because it\u2019s such a power. Game, and now we\u2019ve got this other, you know, a two, one pitch in the fourth inning, and we\u2019re arguing amongst our friends, we should have challenged that. No, we shouldn\u2019t have. It\u2019s to it, and it\u2019s, it does it brings such a layer of it, and then you can be the rest of the game. We, I told you, we shouldn\u2019t have challenged that. We shouldn\u2019t have wasted our challenge on that. And it\u2019s, it\u2019s this aspect, and I think it\u2019d be great and, and I remember, because, again, you and I were old enough to remember the old time people that thought instant replay was going to ruin the NFL because it was going to drag it out too long. And instant replay has been wonderful for the NFL, and this is going to be wonderful for baseball, too, for all the reasons that we\u2019ve discussed.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a020:39<\/p>\n
Yeah, your brother never loved the DH because he wanted to hit. But, like, the DH was when I was a kid, that was the thing, right? Like, should we dump the DH? We took the National League 35 years, right? So baseball still has us arguing. Mark Messina is here. He is, of course, of a baseball family, but coaching basketball amongst other things, and running around and seeing Tom Kiefer and Cinderella anytime, and Tommy comma on the young Rumblers as well. Um, what are you when are they<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a021:05<\/p>\n
playing? I know we talked about that. When is it<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a021:06<\/p>\n
April or man, who\u2019s that? Tommy Conway, it\u2019s playing at Asbury Park show. Man, I gotta he\u2019s playing a stone pony in when? And I think it\u2019s April 24 or something like that. I think I\u2019m gonna look it up. Now. You got me going on this, but I want to get you going. Orioles, where are you on that I\u2019ve already brought your brother\u2019s name up. I had Mike Vaquero on, who wrote this book, bosses of the Bronx. And I told him your hot tub story about your brother, that when Angelos had a hot tub broken, he\u2019d want to sue somebody, when George would just fix it. And the notion that the Orioles couldn\u2019t afford your brother and pissed your brother off, which was disgraceful, still disgraceful to this day. Every Oriole fan should agree with that. Anybody was here would know it, but Angeles did so many more awful things than even just letting your brother walk out the door through all these years, there was no investment most of the time I sat here on March, 30 or April, 10 or any time of the year and said, they suck. They\u2019re going to suck. They\u2019re always going to suck. They\u2019re going to cry poor. They\u2019re going to pocket their money. They\u2019re going to lean on that television deal where they sucked all the money at I mean, just it\u2019s an awful, lurid history of the Angelos thing here. And two years gone, the new owner doesn\u2019t know anything about baseball, nothing like it\u2019s very clear how little he knows about baseball, but he likes his ego, and he likes his bobblehead. He likes sitting on the dates at these press conferences, the check the bars. I thought the basset thing was crazy, and I haven\u2019t had you on the show since then. But like the notion that the Baltimore Orioles would be a late signer for a really good pitcher, Guy pitching the World Series, giving him 18 and a half million dollars in February to come in and be the four starter, and I think he might even be better than that. We\u2019re seeing things here, civically And fundamentally, and even though I\u2019m banned and they treat me like the same piece of garbage that Angela treat me worse than Angela\u2019s, because I don\u2019t deserve it, but they\u2019re, they\u2019re making it interesting here, Pete Alonso, but the Shane boss thing, it\u2019s like I was gonna say they\u2019re spending money like a drunken sailor, not really just feels that way when you\u2019re an Oriole fan, because they never did anything here. They\u2019re trying here moose, and for that, they don\u2019t have to get my price pass back. I can see the strike zone better on the on the box, especially, I\u2019m going to come down there to treat me like shit, because I don\u2019t want that. But they\u2019re, they\u2019re making a real concerted effort here, in a way that even during the buck era, this feels different here. And I don\u2019t know if it feels different to you up on the farm in PA, but it feels different. It feels like the Orioles are going to be trying from now moving forward. And I agree.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a023:45<\/p>\n
I agree. And you know, spending money on pitchers is always scary, because pitchers just get hurt differently than position players, except for Chris Davis. But, and I think you know it, I don\u2019t say in defense of the the Angelos era, you know, they spent a lot of money on Davis. And people that remember the end of what he was forget the beginning of what he was, and his numbers were out of this world. And, you know, and it\u2019s also easy to spend somebody else\u2019s money, as we sit here, and we\u2019re like, I don\u2019t care. I went to college with a guy who\u2019s a die hard Mets fan, and he was talking about some play I\u2019ll never forget this. And I was like, Dude, that that\u2019s a lot of money. And he goes, it ain\u2019t my money. What do I care? Look what the Yankees are spending. I was like, yeah, it\u2019s a good point. So it\u2019s easy for us to criticize, but yeah, I think both the pitchers signings that you just mentioned are worth the risk, because they\u2019re all a risk. And you know, even you see what the Yankees did when they went out and signed Garrett Cole and then he\u2019s out for a year, and they paid him $30 million last year. He\u2019s he\u2019s really good when he\u2019s healthy. And no one saw this coming. But you know, he hasn\u2019t brought him a word. World Series, and they got to the World Series, but it\u2019s just, there\u2019s no guarantees. So you\u2019ve got to take these educated guesses. And, and I know the kid didn\u2019t have a great start his first start of the season, but you know, long term, we\u2019ll see. And, and I, I like both the moves in general. And again, it\u2019s easy, yeah, come June, you can turn around and say, Oh, if one of them\u2019s on the shelf or one of them just greatly underperforms, but you know, you you got to take these shots and and I tip my half for him for taking the shot. My curiosity with this team this year is Adley rushman. That is because I just have to but I know people talked about that he was banged up. I got to believe he was banged up, and if he\u2019s finally healthy again, and I say, Fine, it\u2019s not like he\u2019s that old. We remember kind of the aura that came with him when he showed up and and the team started winning. And it wasn\u2019t all because of him, but it certainly helped. And we, everybody knows baseball, knows how important it is to have good catching and a catcher who can actually swing the bat as well, and to see his his the last couple years for him, nobody saw coming. Chris Davis, see weird, right, right? And I got to believe the kid was hurt, and I just hope that he can be healthy again and just and he\u2019s not going to hit 330 and, you know, maybe he\u2019s not. He\u2019s, you know, he\u2019s never going to be, you know, Johnny Bench or whatever. But that to see this kid come back and hit 275 and hit 20 plus home runs and drive would be very feasible, I think, if he\u2019s healthy, and that I just hope that he is, and I have no I\u2019ve never talked to the kids, so it\u2019s not like I know what his injury history was, but the stories were that he was beat up, and I have to believe that he was beat up more than he was<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a026:59<\/p>\n
letting on. Well, holiday two and Westberg two and Henderson last year was never right like you know from so getting all of these guys right, but then coming at it with the five pitchers and sending Kramer to Norfolk, I know the bullpen suspect until it\u2019s not, it might be awful. Who knows? I know their defense is going to be adequate at best. On its best day, it\u2019s only going to be okay. So I know that, and I know they\u2019re going to strike out a lot. I know they\u2019re going to be more station to station, but that\u2019s the game. I would say that the starting pitching and giving Pete Alonso all that money, and Taylor Ward kind of filling that Santander role that Tyler O\u2019Neill didn\u2019t fit last year, but he\u2019s back and he\u2019s healthy. They got a lot of bats, and they have really good starting pitching. And for that, I we\u2019re into a season where they have a chance, and we haven\u2019t had a lot of that, and I think they have a good chance. I pick them to win 92 games, moose. I think I\u2019m bullish on the or else this year. I think we\u2019re gonna be good.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a027:58<\/p>\n
When you said, you know their bullpen suspect, I would bet, and I haven\u2019t gone other than the teams with the huge market, you know, the Yankees, the Mets, the Dodgers. Well, the Indians had a good<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a028:08<\/p>\n
bullpen until everybody went to jail. So, yeah, right.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a028:11<\/p>\n
Like, how many teams don\u2019t have a suspect bullpen in March? So, and the difference in Major League Baseball, it\u2019s, it\u2019s a good reminder of college basketball, and you see all these teams now that in the Final Four, it\u2019s the the margin of error that the the the Orioles of the world, the mariners of the worlds, these teams can\u2019t, they can\u2019t absorb a lot of injuries, where the Yankees John Carlo can miss half the season again, because he always does. And if he\u2019s there in October, then he\u2019s there in October, if the Orioles and all these other teams have a job, if gun or misses half the season, the Orioles have no shot in October. So that those are the differences, their margin of error. But we saw with Toronto last year. We saw with with Seattle, these teams that have had, you know, made it exciting. You know, when you look around, Houston isn\u2019t what they used to be. Detroit\u2019s trying to get there, and I know Verlander is, I think Verlander is pitching today. But other than, you look at like, you know, dodgers, Yankees, the mats are supposed to be, but the Mets are still the Mets until they get there. It\u2019s, it\u2019s more wide open, and now with the expanded playoffs, it\u2019s even more wide open. So yeah, I I really liked the Orioles offseason, and I think too going forward, it shows guys like gunner or any young guy coming up, or any veteran guy coming in that they\u2019re going to try, because nobody wants to be the one guy that they keep. You know that, like Jose Ramirez is in Cleveland right now, and he\u2019s got really nobody around him. You know, nobody wants to be that guy they want, like, yes, sign me, I\u2019ll stay if you\u2019re going to spend money on other guys. Yeah, and at least try, because the guys know that they they can\u2019t go out and spend $300 million on a starting pitcher, but to bring in the kid from Toronto for, you know, $18 million well, that they can, they can absorb that.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a030:11<\/p>\n
So everybody sees that that\u2019s a real commitment inside the locker room. I see that as a media member to fan Absolutely.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a030:17<\/p>\n
So it gives hope to, you know, because they\u2019re like, Well, why won\u2019t a guy stay? And we talk, we transfer, Portal, all this stuff. Well, what do they think? What do they think is going to be here next year, and and if bass, it goes, and then, well, they\u2019re going to bring in somebody else. And that would be the feeling in the locker room all year, this year, in the clubhouse that that next year, we\u2019re look, they signed, they signed Alonso. They signed this guy to a multi year deal. They signed this guy to a one year deal. But these aren\u2019t just, you know, we remember the rentals that they picked up and like the that they hope they catch lightning in a bottle. Like these guys have real potential, and not just a lot, but the other guys that they\u2019re not just throwing crazy money. I thought they were all reasonable, educated guesses, and that\u2019s all they all are. You know, it\u2019s, it\u2019s players health is a risk, and God bless them for taking it. Look, everybody wanted Corbin<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a031:10<\/p>\n
burns here last year, and it would have sounded good and would have looked good, but it wouldn\u2019t<\/p>\n
31:15<\/p>\n
have been good. No, it would not have been.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a031:16<\/p>\n
It would have been devastating, really, for them.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a031:19<\/p>\n
And, yeah, I think it\u2019s fun. I think the team you\u2019re right, defensively, they\u2019re not great, but offensively, I think they\u2019re going to score. And I when you look at Alonzo with, like, kind of with the Mets, and for some reason I don\u2019t know he, I think the world just thinks he\u2019s this lumberjack who, sooner or later, the league\u2019s going to figure him out, and he\u2019s not gonna be able to hit anymore. And it just never He just keeps hitting. And I don\u2019t know, I think the Orioles were kind of lucky to get him. I would be shocked now, Oriole fans again, that are old like us, remember Glenn Davis and when he showed up, and then it just, it never translated ball. I would be shocked if Alonso is not good in Baltimore, I would be shocked.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a032:02<\/p>\n
Mark Messina is here. He is good as the county commissioner up in Pennsylvania. He\u2019s up in toursville with his brother. He\u2019s still coaching ball. Admire him both when you were doing it together. I\u2019m not,<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a032:13<\/p>\n
no, I\u2019m not. He is, but he he coaches a lot and plays golf<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a032:17<\/p>\n
a lot, and he\u2019s got more money and time than you. Yes, he<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a032:21<\/p>\n
is certainly and he\u2019s a way better golfer, I\u2019ll tell you that, but he\u2019s on the range six days a week, like, I hope he\u2019s good. So he\u2019s falling<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a032:29<\/p>\n
in love with golf. That\u2019s been his thing.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a032:31<\/p>\n
Yeah, yeah. He my youngest nephew is a super golfer, and so him, and that\u2019s his youngest boy, yeah, yeah, his youngest son, and so they play all the time. I mean, my nephew plays all the time. Mike plays, but, yeah, works into his schedule. It\u2019s a he gets to play a lot of golf. We just don\u2019t have enough nice weather yet. But he\u2019s keep he\u2019s coaching three sports still, and he keeps saying he\u2019s going to cut one down, but he hasn\u2019t yet. But, you know his, his world is, is changing too. You know he\u2019s been an empty Nestor longer than me, but you know he when I became an empty nester, I started to go to work every day. And you know he\u2019s he\u2019s adjusting to it. So he fills his time with coaching and<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a033:18<\/p>\n
golf. And you\u2019re done with coaching, you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a033:21<\/p>\n
Yeah, yeah. I know. I have a buddy. I have a couple buddies that always said when we got older and our kids were older, we were going to go coach a little league team and have no kids involved, and have no daddy ball involved, and we were just going to teach them how to play. I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s ever going to come to pass, but, you know, I still throw batting practices to some kids sometimes, and, you know, help things out. But I\u2019m still a good bullpen catcher. But now the the everyday stuff, I actually, as corny as it sounds, politically, there\u2019s some, some things on the local level, with, you know, with nonprofit organizations and with housing, we were just at a Habitat for Humanity, just did a ribbon cutting. And so there\u2019s, there\u2019s things like that that I feel like, that\u2019s<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a034:03<\/p>\n
not corny in my world, I do that all day. That\u2019s the important stuff, dude. Yeah.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a034:06<\/p>\n
I mean, I\u2019m lucky enough to be in a position where I really think we can do a little help. And, you know, you know, you get the national politics and you see all this statewide stuff that you really don\u2019t have as much influence, but on a local level, we can really make a difference in and help<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a034:22<\/p>\n
people. Help people right? Help people.<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a034:25<\/p>\n
That\u2019s and I\u2019m fortunate that I can be in a position. We just had one the other day with the YWCA and and and their battered women\u2019s shelter and and how we can which, which funds, because all the government funds are earmarked for something, so which funds and, but there\u2019s a grayness to all these earmarks that you can use it for this. And you well, can we use this money to help this? And no one\u2019s debating the causes with, you know, American rescue workers and and things like that. So we\u2019re just trying to funnels not the right word, because funnel has a negative connotation. We\u2019re just, we\u2019re. Trying to match the needs and and it\u2019s, it\u2019s, it\u2019s challenging, but it\u2019s, it\u2019s rewarding when we can do it. So I, I, I\u2019d rather do that going<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a035:10<\/p>\n
forward than Coach. Good work. County Commissioner Mark Messina, dude, you\u2019re almost all grown up. Don\u2019t tell anybody. I\u2019ll see you to Tommy Conwell show or a Tom Keith show, or maybe, you know, now that I like baseball game, maybe we\u2019ll go to a ball game together. Yeah, meet you in Philly halfway, or something like that. You know,<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a035:26<\/p>\n
what\u2019s funny is, my son and I go to Baltimore every year. Now he\u2019s in school in Pittsburgh,<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a035:31<\/p>\n
so when he suddenly come to Baltimore, they don\u2019t call me. I just want to point that out, but<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a035:35<\/p>\n
go ahead. But whatever. Well, lots of times we make the decision the morning of it, like, hey, what do you work today? What are you doing? So the Orioles, the pirates, home opener, is next weekend against the Orioles. So he is definitely, he\u2019s not going to opening day, because opening day, as you know, is a little pricey, but Saturday and Sunday, we\u2019re looking at going, it\u2019s the weather\u2019s, it looks a little damp, but it\u2019s going to be warmer. We\u2019re looking at he\u2019s, he might go to both, and I\u2019m going to try to go to one, but we always get to Camden Yards. But yeah, I will, I will absolutely be down<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a036:06<\/p>\n
because see the birds with yens in that at the confluence. What? Yeah, we had a bad weekend in Pittsburgh playing baseball back in 79 but that was<\/p>\n
Mark Mussina\u00a0\u00a036:18<\/p>\n
before your time. I remember. It\u2019s a rumor, but I do remember it.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0\u00a036:23<\/p>\n
But yeah, Sister Sledge and we are family. All right, moose, I love you, man. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re doing good things up there. Keep up the great work. We\u2019ll get together soon. All right, absolutely, man, I\u2019ll see you. I\u2019ll beat you up on the Cowboys after draft day. He is marked here, buddy, this is our year again. Jerry\u2019s in the way. Next year, Jerry\u2019s in the way. Jack Prescott\u2019s not though I am Nestor. We are W, N, S T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore positive. Stay with us. You.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our all-time favorite brother-of-a-Hall-of-Famer Mark Mussina returns to begin another baseball season but this one has been greatly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2374],"tags":[143,47,2538,5,4,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-659954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-orioles","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-orioles","10":"tag-baltimoreorioles","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-orioles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116338199450487749","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}